Bill
06-28-2016, 5:02pm
Flights Between US and Istanbul Suspended After Terrorist Attack
BECKY PERLOW
Updated 10 mins ago
In the wake of a terrorist attack that left at least 28 dead and 60 injured at Ataturk airport, all scheduled flights between the United States and Istanbul have been temporarily suspended while officials sort out the incident in Turkey, a senior U.S. official told ABC News today.
The FAA also confirmed to ABC News it has put in place a ground stop for any U.S. flights departing for Istanbul and any flights leaving Istanbul for the U.S.
An official told Turkish state broadcaster TRT that two attackers opened fire with machine guns and detonated suicide belts outside the international terminal before passing the first security checkpoint. Later the governor of Istanbul said that there were three suicide attackers.
There are currently 10 airborne flights inbound to U.S. destinations from Istanbul, all Turkish Airlines flights. U.S. officials are in the process of determining exactly how to handle them, but it is expected that those planes will be isolated once they land and then searched, according to the senior U.S. official. Only then will passengers and luggage be allowed near the airport terminals.
The Ataturk airport in Istanbul, like many across the Middle East, has a layer of security at the terminal entrance, including X-rays that scan check-in and carry-on bags, and metal detectors that scan passengers. Ataturk is the 11th largest international airport, with nearly 62 million passengers traveling through it in 2015, according to Airports Council International, an industry airport group that acts as the voice of the world's airports and the communities they serve.
Today's attack comes three months after deadly coordinated bombs were detonated at an international airport in Brussels. Brussels Airport CEO Arnaud Feist expressed his shock about the Istanbul attack on Twitter Tuesday evening.
This is the fifth major attack on Turkey's biggest city this year -- earlier this month, a car bomb attack on a police bus has killed seven officers and four civilians in central Istanbul.
ABC News' Alexander Marquardt, Jon Williams, John Gallagher, Whitney Lloyd, Erin Dooley, Jeff Cook and Casey Decker contributed to this report.
Flights Between US and Istanbul Suspended After Terrorist Attack | abc13.com (http://abc13.com/news/flights-between-us-and-istanbul-suspended-after-terrorist-attack/1405696/)
Funny how the Trump Doctrine is already being invoked, and he hasn't even won yet.
BECKY PERLOW
Updated 10 mins ago
In the wake of a terrorist attack that left at least 28 dead and 60 injured at Ataturk airport, all scheduled flights between the United States and Istanbul have been temporarily suspended while officials sort out the incident in Turkey, a senior U.S. official told ABC News today.
The FAA also confirmed to ABC News it has put in place a ground stop for any U.S. flights departing for Istanbul and any flights leaving Istanbul for the U.S.
An official told Turkish state broadcaster TRT that two attackers opened fire with machine guns and detonated suicide belts outside the international terminal before passing the first security checkpoint. Later the governor of Istanbul said that there were three suicide attackers.
There are currently 10 airborne flights inbound to U.S. destinations from Istanbul, all Turkish Airlines flights. U.S. officials are in the process of determining exactly how to handle them, but it is expected that those planes will be isolated once they land and then searched, according to the senior U.S. official. Only then will passengers and luggage be allowed near the airport terminals.
The Ataturk airport in Istanbul, like many across the Middle East, has a layer of security at the terminal entrance, including X-rays that scan check-in and carry-on bags, and metal detectors that scan passengers. Ataturk is the 11th largest international airport, with nearly 62 million passengers traveling through it in 2015, according to Airports Council International, an industry airport group that acts as the voice of the world's airports and the communities they serve.
Today's attack comes three months after deadly coordinated bombs were detonated at an international airport in Brussels. Brussels Airport CEO Arnaud Feist expressed his shock about the Istanbul attack on Twitter Tuesday evening.
This is the fifth major attack on Turkey's biggest city this year -- earlier this month, a car bomb attack on a police bus has killed seven officers and four civilians in central Istanbul.
ABC News' Alexander Marquardt, Jon Williams, John Gallagher, Whitney Lloyd, Erin Dooley, Jeff Cook and Casey Decker contributed to this report.
Flights Between US and Istanbul Suspended After Terrorist Attack | abc13.com (http://abc13.com/news/flights-between-us-and-istanbul-suspended-after-terrorist-attack/1405696/)
Funny how the Trump Doctrine is already being invoked, and he hasn't even won yet.